Kuwait Investigates Money Transfers by Former PM

The Kuwaiti government on Thursday ordered a probe into the alleged transfer of millions of dollars of public funds into the private foreign accounts of the former prime minister, a statement said.

At an extraordinary meeting, the cabinet asked the Audit Bureau, the state's accounting watchdog, to "examine the transfers" and report back with the results, said a statement issued by the cabinet.

Outspoken opposition MP Mussallam al-Barrak claimed in October that Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, made the transfers through the central bank and the foreign ministry.

The previous government, which resigned in November following unprecedented youth-led street protests, has denied any wrongdoing, saying that the former premier had returned the money to the government agencies.

Barrak said he did not have the exact value of the transfers, but estimated they stood at more than $200 million based on official documents he obtained.

The allegations have led former foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah, also a senior member of the ruling family, to resign in October when Barrak sent him a series of questions about the issue.

Three opposition MPs had filed to quiz the former prime minister over the transfers and another corruption scandal in which 13 former MPs had allegedly accepted illegal bank deposits estimated at $350 million.

Pressure by the opposition and protests forced the former premier to resign and led the ruler to dissolve the previous parliament and call for snap polls.

The Kuwaiti opposition, which scored an impressive victory in the February 2 election, has vowed to form parliamentary panels to probe both scandals.